LANSING, Mich. (WZMQ) – On Monday, a temporary restraining order (TRO) was granted to restore university funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The TRO will only restore funding in the 22 states that filed until further legal action can be taken.
The directive from the Office of Management and Budget would impact research funding from the NIH by capping indirect costs for academic research at 15%. Nessel said the order would result in thousands of lost jobs and end 10s of thousands of research projects.
State Attorneys General are seeking legal action to reverse multiple executive orders from the Trump administration. Democratic AGs have filed temporary restraining orders and preliminary injunctions in cases involving birthright citizenship, the federal funding pause, federal employee buyouts, and now NIH funding.
Since Trump’s inauguration Michigan’s Attorney General Dana Nessel has taken part in three legal cases to halt orders by the new administration. Most recently, 22 democratic attorneys general filed for a temporary restraining order to halt the NIH funding cuts announced Friday. The temporary restraining order was filed Monday morning in Massachusetts and was granted before the end of the day.
“Time and again in just the last three weeks, we’ve seen Trump and the federal government implement sweeping, indiscriminate cuts without rhyme or reason, and with zero consideration for the consequences to the American people,” Nessesl said. “As Attorneys General, we have an obligation, moral, legal and ethical, to serve the best interests of our constituents and will continue to do so each and every time the policies of this administration and the federal government violate the law.”
Trump proposed similar cuts in his first presidency, prompting the Republican-led Congress to pass a law to protect and demand the continued funding of medical research. The AGs said that the law makes the order illegal.
The NIH is the largest funder of biomedical research in the world. Michigan receives over a billion dollars from NIH for research done at Michigan State University, the University of Michigan, and Wayne State University.
The order would cut about $4 billion nationwide. In Michigan, MSU research funding would be cut by $27 million, Wayne State would lose $18 million, and U of M is estimated to lose $181 million.
The indirect costs include lab facilities and equipment, safety protocols, high-speed data processing, and faculty and support staff.
A hearing is scheduled for Friday, February 21st.
